As part of the School of Medicine self-study process and preparation for the accreditation survey visit by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) on Jan. 22-25, 2012, the LCME Medical Student Committee has conducted an in-depth survey of OHSU medical students. The results of the survey—which had a response rate of greater than 90 percent—are now available.

The LCME Medical Student Committee worked diligently to create a valid and comprehensive survey instrument, and to compile and assess the data. Cindy Morris, PhD, MPH, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Professor, Department of Medical Informatics & Clinical Epidemiology, served as advisor to the committee. To help ensure participation by students in all four years of the undergraduate medical education (UME) program, the Dean's Office offered a $250 award to each class that achieved greater than 80 percent participation in the student survey. The survey was administered to students between February and April to ensure the maximum number of students in each class could respond.

The survey’s goal was to collect comprehensive feedback from all students on the state of OHSU's UME program, including a broad range of topics such as faculty-student relationships, student services, the UME curriculum, facilities, and student well-being. In developing the survey, the Student Committee took into account issues universal to medical education as well as topics specific to the OHSU UME program.

The 2011 LCME Self-Study Medical Student Survey provides valuable data for faculty administrators and staff regarding the UME program and the experience of OHSU medical students. The survey will inform the LCME medical student self-study narrative, and areas of student concern identified in the survey will be the topic of upcoming student focus groups. The overall self-study process and work of the Medical Student Committee will drive needed improvements in student services, the curriculum and facilities, with some improvements already underway, and serve as the basis for enhancing the overall quality of OHSU’s UME program.

Activated in October 2010, the LCME Medical Student Committee is co-chaired by Gabriel Andeen, Jessica Carlson, and Lauren Moneta. Each medical school class is represented on the Committee by five to eight student members.

To read a summary of the 2011 OHSU Medical Student Survey and to learn which areas medical students reported as strengths or concerns, visit the School of Medicine’s LCME internal website. The complete survey, including data and percentage responses reported by each class, is also available on the School of Medicine ozone website (Login required).